The Wii Fit hit the stores in the spring of 2008 and has been extremely popular ever since. Go to any retailer and you will be lucky to actually find one in stock. The Wii Fit follows the video game philosophy behind the Wii to a “T”, and promises to help you get off the couch, get healthy and have fun while you are doing it.

Let’s start by talking about one of the most original features of the Wii Fit, its balance board. The balance board works as a regular balance board to exercise on, a yoga mat, a scale and a Wii remote. The games that you can play with the Wii Fit include yoga, strength training, aerobics, and other balance games (like snowboarding).

Snowboarding with the balance board as your controller means that you actually get to pretend you are on an actual snowboard. When you are doing the aerobics, yoga or strength training, the balance board takes the information of your weight displacement on the board and sends it to the Wii so that you can see a computerized version of exactly what you are doing on the screen. Also, when going through the games, the video instructions will show you what you should be doing on the balance board.

The benefits of the balance board work core muscles, which include the upper and lower abdominal, oblique and lower back muscles, leading to a trimmer, stronger trunk. The Yoga Workout includes things like the Tree and Warrior Pose, which are mainly stretches and breathing exercises. Yoga and Pilates moves focus on strength and flexibility, as well as toning, firming and balance. The aerobics workout incorporates everything from push-ups to running. Aerobics work all muscle groups, and increase endurance and stamina. Such types of exercises are superior for cardiac health, as well as boosting oxygen levels to all areas of the body, including and most especially the brain.

All this sounds interesting, but how does the Wii Fit actually help you get in shape? For anyone that has been desperately trying to take off a few pounds through diet and exercise, it is obvious that simple video games can’t help you much. However, the Wii Fit actually tracks what you are doing, weighs you and helps you create fitness goals that then help you achieve by giving you the charting and guiding you need through various user function keys.

Using the charting functions of the Wii Fit, you are able to track your weight and how it measures on the BMI (Body Mass Index) every time you weight yourself. The charts and tests also help keep track of what your fitness age is. Just like with the Brain Age games for the Nintendo DS, the Wii Fit will tell you if you are as fit as you ought to be for your age or as fit as the oldest man on earth. The charting functions also keep track of your fitness goals and an activity log, which should help you determine whether or not you are seeing any progress.

Sound boring? Not in the least! The Wii Fit makes a game out of tracking your progress and meeting your goals. This means that as you accumulate points for doing certain things, you unlock new activities by gaining different points and well, it brings out the competitive side in most people. Of course, you are only competing against yourself, but that is the toughest competitor possible. If you are a 20-year-old man, you don’t want to be told by a video game that you have the athleticism of a 90 year old. This means that through trying to make your fitness age younger, the game rewards you points, and you get the physical benefits.

Perhaps one of the best benefits of using the Wii Fit is that release of endorphins that are released through exercise as well as pleasure. Combining exercise and pleasure is a sure way to gain untold benefits through cardio and aerobic activities that are fun and entertaining at the same time. You can’t go wrong with the Nintendo Wii Fit, no matter your taste for games, exercise or entertainment.